Your top 5 sci-fi movies (and why)

[The Soloist]

So many fantasy stories rely on this, and people point to them as some kind of inspiration, and to me? It's an insidious message meant to distract us. I'm cool with others not agreeing in that point, but the message is clear. You can't really fight evil. Or, you can't fight the source, only the pawns? Obi wan and Yoda do zero fighting in the original. And they are the ideal .

Bold: Herein lies their mistake they eventually learn. If your life compass is based on black and white morals of a movie for 12 years old, you got a serious problem.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

While I agree with you in principale, let's not forget that the original Star Wars trilogy has its own internal rules. Vader/Anakin is redeemed with his last minute action against the Emperor. His dark points ledger is erased by his action.

On the plus side, you saved you son! Good job!

On the minus side, you did cut off your son's hand. And you killed Obi-Wan. And you murdered a bunch of separatists while they were begging for mercy. Oh, and remember how things ended with Padme? Not cool. And slaughtered millions as the henchman of the Emperor. Also... about those younglings that looked up to you and trusted you ...

Hmm... guess it's a wash!

The Force is Balanced.

 

[The Soloist]

Obi wan and Yoda do zero fighting in the original. And they are the ideal .

False. Obi wan fights Vader at the end of the first movie. And we understand both are beyond their prime and fought in the old wars of the Republic.

 

[Mannahnin]

Try that in real life. Counting on evil to turn to love.

It's a fairy tale. In real life sometimes people DO feel moral shame and turn away from evil, but it's not reliable and it's not normally going to be at a dramatic moment.

So many fantasy stories rely on this, and people point to them as some kind of inspiration, and to me? It's an insidious message meant to distract us. I'm cool with others not agreeing in that point, but the message is clear. You can't really fight evil. Or, you can't fight the source, only the pawns? Obi wan and Yoda do zero fighting in the original. And they are the ideal .

I think the message of the original story is sufficiently ambiguous that we can choose to take away a better one.

I never saw it as "you can't fight evil". Plenty of fighting evil and beating it that way goes on in those movies. I think there's a more useful message which can be teased out, that not all evils can be defeated through force, or directly overpowered. And that other tactics (like Nonviolent Direct Action) may be needed and/or morally preferable, depending on the situation.

 

[Parmandur]

I hate the ending. You can't fight evil unless you turn evil first is a terrible message. Terrible. Luke fighting evil doesn't make him evil. Doesn't turn him to the dark side. Indeed, I'd argue fighting evil is the only way to actually beat it.

Yeah, Star Wars morality is dopey as all get out...part of what made RottJ particularly weak.

 

[The Soloist]

On the plus side, you saved you son! Good job!

On the minus side, you did cut off your son's hand. And you killed Obi-Wan. And you murdered a bunch of separatists while they were begging for mercy. Oh, and remember how things ended with Padme? Not cool. And slaughtered millions as the henchman of the Emperor. Also... about those younglings that looked up to you and trusted you ...

Hmm... guess it's a wash!

The Force is Balanced.

Proof: His Force Ghost gets a de-aging as a bonus reward!

 

[Deset Gled]

On the one hand, I want to say that we should get away from turning yet another thread into a debate about Star Wars, and we should return to my personally preferred pedantry of arguing about what is or what is not sci-fi. On the other hand, the overwhelming focus on Star Wars in this thread is res ipsa loquitur evidence that it's science fiction. So, carry on.

And on that note:

False. Obi wan fights Vader at the end of the first movie. And we understand both are beyond their prime and fought in the old wars of the Republic.

Obi-Wan also chopped off a dude's arm in a bar fight. Obi-Wan didn't start that fight, but he sure escalated it pretty quickly. Too bad the Jedi don't have any non-lethal combat skills, or that the Force doesn't have any way of calming the emotions of the weak-minded.

Also, for perspective, Obi-Wan was 57 in A New Hope.

 

[agrayday]

I think of Silent Running as the last big af deal before Star Wars, but then I’m not fond of Logan’s Run. Like a lot of others, it’s no worse than ones o do, it just didn’t click for me.

"big AF deal" movies before star wars and Logans Run were:

• Soylent Green (1973)
• Westworld (1973)
• The Andromeda Strain (1971)
• 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
• Planet of the Apes (1968)

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

Also, for perspective, Obi-Wan was 57 in A New Hope.

People aged differently back in ye old days (the 70s and 80s).

Wilford Brimley was 49 when he filmed Cocoon.

And don't get me started on Grease! Rizzo was 33 and still in high school! Admittedly .. she was a delinquent.

TLDR: back in the day, people immediately aged to their late 20s before high school, and then once the left college, quickly aged until they tried to sell you sumpin' for the Dia-beet-us.

 

[payn]

People aged differently back in ye old days (the 70s and 80s).

Wilford Brimley was 49 when he filmed Cocoon.

49 going on 79 good grief I forgot about that.